At St. Joseph’s Middle School, we believe that education should develop the whole child – mind, heart, and soul. Our curriculum is designed with high standards and expectations for every child, and a wide variety of co-curricular opportunities to promote an environment of exploration and discovery.
Our middle school thrives in a single-gender classroom environment and enjoys a 12:1 student/faculty ratio. Firmly rooted in the teachings of the Catholic Church, the St. Joseph’s middle school experience is centered on Jesus Christ, our Master Teacher.

Rightly viewed, education is not a transaction.
It’s not exchanging money for information.
Rightly understood, education is about formation,
and so the community you choose matters.
-Dr. Steven Jones
Director of the High School

Athletics is a vital and integral part of St. Joseph’s. We offer student-athletes opportunities for competition in the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL), as well as opportunities for our middle school students to compete in the Carolina Middle School Conference (CMSC). Our students have the opportunity to compete in 14 different sports on 36 High School teams and 13 Middle School teams. Participation in athletics, either as a player or as a fan, is an important part of the school’s educational experience.

The Fine Arts Department enhances the academic curriculum by offering students many opportunities to explore the joys of the visual and performing arts. Middle school students have the option to join one of our Band, Strings, or Choral Ensembles and take Visual Art and Theatre classes. These opportunities continue into our high school, where students can choose from one of these programs as well as additional opportunities in dance classes and/or after-school Stage Crew and Theatre Production.

Household Program

A quality, faith-filled education is of itself a tremendous gift. If you have benefited from a Catholic education or appreciate the value of such an education, please consider how you might be able to help the school financially. Your donation will support our educational efforts as we continue our work with the future generation of leaders in our Church and society.

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Standardized Testing Description

PSAT/NMSQT

The PSAT/NMSQT is given to all sophomores and juniors in mid-October during the school day. The PSAT test is a shortened, practice version of the SAT and it provides a good opportunity for students to get comfortable with the format, pacing and questions of the SAT. In addition, many of the AP courses at SJCS require a minimum score on one of the PSAT sections as a prerequisite, which will affect both sophomores and juniors when they register for classes for the following year. The eleventh grade results serve as the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT), which is owned and operated by the National Merit Foundation and co-owned by The College Board. National Merit scholarships are determined using this score alone. Scoring very well could bring national recognition and qualify a student for one of 9,600 college scholarships. It is well worth taking this test seriously by spending time in preparation.

ACT & SAT Test Dates 2019-2020

ACT Test Dates 2019-2020

Test Date
September 14, 2019
October 26, 2019
December 14, 2019
February 8, 2020
April 4, 2020
June 13, 2020
July 18, 2020

Registration Deadline
August 16, 2019
September 20, 2019
November 8, 2019
January 10, 2020
February 28, 2020
May 8, 2020
June 19, 2020

This 3 hour and 45 minute exam focuses on writing, critical reading, and mathematical reasoning ability. The writing section, with a 25 minute essay, is designed to provide colleges with a measure of writing reasoning and critical thinking skills. The critical reading emphasizes reading skills. Math contains enhanced college-preparatory math (Algebra II). It is recommended that students take the SAT Reasoning Exam for the first time in the spring of the junior year and again in October or November of the senior year. All testing should be finalized by the end of December senior year.*Subject Tests not offered on this date

SAT Subject Tests

There are nearly 20 offered in major academic disciplines. In addition to the SAT Reasoning Tests, many competitive colleges (about 50 in number) require two or sometimes three SAT Subject Tests. An hour in length, students may take up to three on any designated date. Please note that all tests are not administered on all dates. Subject exams should be taken as soon as possible after the student completes the study of a single subject, for instance, Physics, but as late as possible for subjects that are cumulative in nature like math. If a student is considering "most selective colleges," it is recommended that he/she take two or three Subject Exams by June of his/her junior year. They may be taken again in November or December of the senior year. Teachers are in the best position to advise students on which tests they are best prepared to take. All testing should be finalized by the end of December in the senior year. SAT Online Registration

ACT (American College Testing Program)

The ACT is another standardized college entrance test given several times a year. The test consists of four 35 to 50 minute sections and measures achievement in four areas: English usage, mathematics usage, reading comprehension, and science reasoning, and is curriculum based. In February of 2005, ACT added a 30-minute “optional” writing assessment. Post-secondary schools will soon be making the decision whether the writing assessment will be required. Students at St. Joseph’s are advised to sit for this optional section and are asked to check the requirements of the colleges/universities they are considering before registering. All colleges accept the ACT. For a test comparison of the SAT and ACT see the concordance table below. ACT Online Registration

AP (Advanced Placement)

These three-hour examinations are based on a full-year college-level course in high school. If enrolling in an AP course, students are expected to sit for the exam in May. Academically qualified sophomores, juniors, and seniors are eligible to include AP courses in their schedules.

Guidelines for Students with Disabilities

Before students with disabilities can take the SAT, SAT Subject Tests, PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, or Advanced Placement Exams with accommodations — such as extended time or the use of a computer — their request for accommodations must be approved by Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). To start this process, please contact Aquinas Program director Carolyn Johnsen. Please note that it can take up to six months for accommodations to be approved.

SC Test Prep is a local Spartanburg company offering SAT and ACT preparation through six-week courses or individual tutoring. For more information, visit http://www.sctestprep.com/ or call 864-384-1021.

There are many types of educational references to assist you in your search. While these guides vary in format, most include information on enrollment, curriculum, faculty, majors/programs offered, campus life, financial aid, cost, selectivity, and a profile of the most recent entering class.

General Guides

These guides specialize in factual/statistical information:

Barron’s, Profiles of American Colleges, 2010: This book lists general information on college facts and finances, college majors, and college profiles. Includes a CD-Rom.

College Board, College Handbook: This book includes separate sections for 4-year and 2-year colleges, an early decision/early action table, a list of colleges by type, special characteristics, size, admission selectivity, and colleges with NCAA sports by division.

Antonoff, The College Finder: This text offers information on more than 2,000 colleges arranged in more than 500 quick reference lists.

Peterson’s, Four Year Colleges 2010: This guide not only includes information on every US accredited four-year college but has nearly 1,000 in-depth descriptions and a majors index.

Special Guides

These guides offer a more subjective view. The narrative descriptions when used in combination with statistical information provide an excellent “check and balance” system to your college research.

Fiske Guide to Colleges 2010: This resource lists each college’s strongest departments and majors and is packed with student tips on academic and social life ratings for each school.

Coburn & Treeger, Letting Go: A Parents’ Guide to Understanding the College Years

Kravets & Wax, The Princeton Review, The K&W Guide for Students with Learning Disabilities: This resource lists colleges with special accommodations for learning disabilities by state and what those accommodations are.

LaVeist, DayStar Guide to Colleges for African American Students
Peterson’s, Colleges with Programs for Students with Learning Disabilities or Attention Deficit Disorders: In addition to detailed information on colleges with comprehensive programs for learning disabled students, there is a reference chart for you to quickly see what each college has to offer.

Peterson’s, Top Colleges for Science

The National Catholic College Admission Assistance, Official Catholic Colleges Guidebook

Guides for Majors, Careers, Finances/Scholarships, Sports

Cassidy, The Scholarship Book: This provides a complete guide to private sector scholarships, fellowships, grants, and loans for the undergraduates.

College Board, Book of Majors

College Board, Getting Financial Aid: One of the most practical guides to the financial aid process, this book also targets many common myths about financial aid.

College Board, Scholarship Handbook 2010: This book lists over 2,000 undergraduate scholarships, internships, and loan programs. Eligibility indexes allow you to search by many areas such as gender, minority status, and disabilities.

If you want to play NCAA sports at a Division I or II school, you need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. Learn more about playing college sports, by going to https://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3/.

College-bound student-athletes (intending to play Division I or II) need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center if they plan on participating in college athletics. Early registration promotes positive planning and involvement, bypasses the last-minute rush, and helps college-bound student-athletes avoid issues that may delay their academic and amateur certifications. The registration process is easy and can be done by:

Please remember to complete a Transcript Request Form at the end of your junior year so that we know to mail your transcripts to the NCAA. You will also need to have your official SAT and/or ACT test scores sent to the NCAA (either through College Board for the SAT or through ACT).

Division III or students who are undecided about which level they will play at, can now create a Profile Page rather than starting the Eligibility process. Students should go to the same link above and click on the Create a Profile Page tab (located next to the Create an Account tab).

Each college/university processes student athletes a little differently. It is very important that you work with the coaches/athletic departments at each college so that they can assist you with the admission process at their university. But, please remember that you will still need to apply to the college or university you are interested in attending. Some student-athletes think that because they are being recruited or because they have registered with the Eligibility Center, they do not need to apply for admission. Athletics eligibility and admission to a college or university are two separate processes and both need to be completed.

St. Joseph’s Catholic School does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions procedures, financial aid/scholarship awards, and/or any other school administered programs.